Global Hunger Index 2020: India ranks 94 among 107 countries

India ranks 94 among 107 countries in Global Hunger Index 2020, the report released on Friday said. According to the GHI report, with a score of 27.2, India has a level of hunger that is “serious”. According to the study, 14% of India’s population is undernourished.

India features behind Nepal (73), Pakistan (88), Bangladesh (75), Indonesia (70) among others. Out of 107 countries, only 13 countries fare worse than India including countries like Rwanda (97), Nigeria (98), Afghanistan (99), Liberia (102), Mozambique (103), Chad (107) among others.

Last year, India’s GHI rank was 102 out of 117 countries.

The reports also state that the country recorded a child stunting rate of 37.4 per cent. Stunted children are those who have a “low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition”.

The Global Hunger Index is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.

“Data from 1991 through 2014 for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan showed that stunting is concentrated among children from households facing multiple forms of deprivation, including poor dietary diversity, low levels of maternal education, and household poverty,” the GHI report read

“In many countries the situation is improving too slowly, while in others it is worsening. For 46 countries in the moderate, serious, or alarming categories, GHI scores have improved since 2012, but for 14 countries in those categories, GHI scores show that hunger and undernutrition have worsened. The latest GHI projections show that 37 countries will fail to achieve even low hunger by 2030,” the report said.

In 2018, India ranked 103 among 119 countries on the global hunger index.